Commenting and Discussion
Guidelines

We want you to be a resource for your fellow readers and we hope that you’ll
use our comment section to do that. We’ve designed it to elevate and amplify the
most intelligent and civil responses, and diminish or hide the worst. These are
the rules of the road:

Stay on point.

When making a comment, don't go off-topic. Don't comment about other
commenters or their presumed political beliefs. Discuss the merits of the story
itself. Do not post a tome. This is not the place to paste a chapter of your
(or anyone else's) dissertation or white paper.

Show respect.

We encourage and appreciate thoughtful debate. Just make sure that when you
disagree with a story's premise or another commenter that you do so in a
respectful and courteous manner.

Be polite and keep it clean.

We cover new technologies; our site is not an outlet for rudeness. We do not
tolerate personal insults, including name-calling, racism, sexism, hate speech,
or obscenity. That means no profane, abusive, harassing, or bullying remarks.
If you can't be civil and polite, don't post it.

Ignore trolls.

The best response to a troll—someone being repeatedly hostile and
provocative—is no response. Please don't encourage bad behavior by responding;
it only serves to delight trolls and egg them on. If someone is abusing a
discussion thread, flag any offending comments, and we will address the
situation.

Be responsible and authentic.

Post only your opinions in your own words. You are responsible for the
content you post.

Don't post spam or ads.

Unless you have an advertising contract with us, this website is not a
billboard for your business. Don't post spam, self-promotional content, or ad
campaigns. No lobbying, recruiting, or soliciting.

We read comments.

Though our discussion boards aren't formally moderated, we do pay close
attention to them. We reserve the right to edit or delete comments that do not
meet our standards.

We ban egregious members.

It's not something we relish. But when necessary, we will ban members who do
not abide by these guidelines.